Document shows Mid-Atlantic intended to develop Parkhouse site

NORRISTOWN — Newly-obtained documents reveal that the prospective owner of the Parkhouse geriatric complex originally had plans to develop some of the adjacent land that Montgomery County officials have included in the sale.

The Montgomery County commissioners have agreed to sell the Parkhouse complex in Upper Providence to a private firm, Mid-Atlantic Health Care, for $39 million.

Neither side has publicly stated what the future holds for the 288-acre property, but documents obtained by The Times Herald, sister paper to The Mercury, show that Mid-Atlantic wanted to develop some of the land, although the firm now says it will not pursue those plans because of widespread public opposition.

The Times Herald submitted a Right To Know request seeking access to the Request For Proposal. The RFP, which is dated July 12, 2013, states that Mid-Atlantic Health Care did have intentions of developing part of the land involved in the sale.

“MAHC proposes to purchase all land, facilities, and operations on the 288 acre campus for a total of $35,000,000. While we have not finalized our plans for the additional land, we have had preliminary discussions with the Einstein Health System to participate in this project. Further, we are also speaking with Ganas Development (which is led by Dr. Elliot Menkowitz), and The Sukonik Building Companies to develop a comprehensive development strategy,” the response states.

According to the second page of the response, as of July 2013, Mid-Atlantic expected to invest heavily in the skilled nursing facility, build an assisted-living facility and build a continuing care retirement community.

“Regarding the skilled nursing facility — we expect to invest up to an additional $15,000,000 over five years to renovate Parkhouse,” Mid-Atlantic’s Michael J. Mahon, chief development officer, wrote in the response.

He writes that it is his hope to make Parkhouse into a state-of-the-art nursing center with a 60-bed short stay “Step-Up” unit, and continues that under Mid-Atlantic control, Parkhouse will continue to accept and serve the needs of both Medicare and Medicaid recipients without hesitation.

The response also states Mid-Atlantic expected to add assisted-living beds over the next five to 10 years.

“We also expect to build a coordinated independent living campus including the market rate and subsidized unit,” Mahon wrote. “We plan to commission a market study of the area to help assess the proper mix of each type of bed. Based on our experience, we expect this project to cost approximately $50,000,000.”

At the end of the response, Mahon stated Mid-Atlantic expected to spend at least $100 million to develop the campus and to add at least 250 jobs to the local economy.

Since the response was sent to the county, Mid-Atlantic CEO Scott Rifkin has stated his company has no plans to develop the land around Parkhouse.

In an undated letter from Rifkin to Montgomery County solicitor Raymond McGarry, Rifkin writes that while he originally had plans of expanding Parkhouse, he saw how it impacted the community and ultimately decided against it.

“As we have stated to the various community groups, we had a notion to investigate whether the current facility would serve the community better if we added the missing pieces of a typical CCRC — more assisted living and independent living on the campus,” he wrote in the undated letter.

“After consulting with your office and hearing the concerns of the commissioners and the community, we decided not to pursue that option,” Rifkin wrote.

The letter from Rifkin to McGarry was sent to The Times Herald along with the response to the RFP after the Right To Know request was approved.

An editor at The Times Herald said it is highly unusual to receive any additional documents that were not asked for with a Right To Know request, noting that Right To Know requests are often denied because the exact name of the document is not used in the request.

The sale of the Parkhouse facility has stirred controversy among a dissenting group of county residents who believe the land Parkhouse is built on, and the land surrounding it, is open space and cannot be sold by the county. The county maintains the land is not open space and that just because it has remained open before, does make it legally protected space.

A group of protestors to the sale have also maintained the county has not been forthcoming with information regarding the sale of the facility.

The final sale of Parkhouse was intended to go through on Jan. 31 but due diligence on the part of Mid-Atlantic and the county has led to the discovery of a few environmental and building issues that need further investigation.

At the last commissioners’ meeting, the commissioners approved the emergency excavation of an oil tank that failed a tightness test. Further environmental and building testing still needs to be completed.